BikeSpike Thwarts Bike Thieves With GPS Tracking

I had my bike stolen once. I leaned it up against the side of the apartment building while I dashed inside for two seconds. When I re-emerged, it was gone, and I was crushed. (I was 14 and it was the teal-green mountain bike I’d wanted for months) Bike theft is pretty far down the police department’s priority list, so there was nothing I could do but hope to find it. I didn’t.

BikeSpike is a new gadget that aims to make these heartbreaking stories a thing of the past. Armed with the world’s smallest GPS chipset and a connection to a global cellular network, the device makes it possible to track your stolen bike in real time, and hopefully recover it.

Image via BikeSpike

The BikeSpike is designed to be attached inconspicuously to the bike’s frame via a custom carbon fiber cage. The built in GPS technology makes it possible to digitally “lock” your bike and receive a notification if your bike moves from it’s geo-fenced location or if someone even tampers with it.

If the bike is stolen, you can monitor your bike’s location on a map using your phone or computer, (native iOS and android app included). The system also makes it possible to grant temporary access to local law enforcement, helping increase the chances of recovery and keeping you safe (aka confronting bike thieves on your own is probably a bad idea).

But thwarting thieves isn’t the only thing BikeSpike can do. The gadget’s on-board accelerometer makes it easy to share ride stats (distance, speed, and courses…) with friends, coaches and spectators, and also acts as a collision detection system that can alert key members of your contact list and share the location of a crash. And with the BikeSpike the Hacker Pack, you can connect it to a motorcycle or other on-board batteries for a continual charge.

Beth Buczynski is a freelancer writer and editor currently living in the Rocky Mountain West. Her articles appear on Care2, Ecosalon and Inhabitat, just to name a few. So far, Beth has lived in or near three major U.S. mountain ranges, and is passionate about protecting the important ecosystems they represent. Follow Beth on Twitter as @ecosphericblog

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